Wednesday, November 20, 2002

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Wednesday, November 20, 2002

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I had a “Rocky” moment today. You know, like in the first Rocky movie when he runs to the top of the stairs and raises his hands over his head in triumph for attaining his goal. Well, today was a biggie, because I finally reached the top of the hill at the end of our street, which has been my goal since I started walking a few months ago. What makes it so significant is that it is exactly one half mile from my driveway to the top of that hill. So, today I reached my goal of walking one mile for the first time. I did it in a personal best time of 36 minutes. At the top of the hill I called my wife at work on my cell phone and asked her to “guess where I am standing”. She guessed right, and was very pleased for me.

I have been sticking to my eating plan and have not binged once. I can feel the affects of the hard work too, which makes it all worthwhile. It's not easy to be self-motivating when you know you need to do a workout or walk. In fact, walking is the hardest thing that I do. Today my knee was very sore and I didn't think I was going to be able to handle the walk. But, I had put it off the day before because of the pain and the fact that it was raining outside. Rain is a deterrent where I live in Washington State, but we have a saying here; if you wait for the rain to stop, nothing will ever get done! Today was a beautiful sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. I took it as a sign from God and got my butt out there and walked.

I can see and feel my body getting in better shape and looking better. There is a big change in my face, not a day goes by without Shawna telling me how handsome I Am.

We are going to visit my nephew Chris and his family on Thanksgiving. Last year during the holidays they invited us over but I was unable to travel comfortably because of my size. Not knowing if they had chairs that would hold me or a bathroom that was going to be easily accessible was a major concern. I opened up my feelings to them for the first time and was honest about why I couldn't do it. It was very difficult, but I didn't want them to think it was about anything to do with them. It was important to me that they know that. They have come over here quite a few times for holidays and family gatherings. It is a day trip to get there and we have to take a ferry because they live in Port Orchard which is just south of the Peninsula. I told them that I would take a rain check and that I would plan on coming over the following year. They held me to it and I am proud to say that I am up for it. We are going to be able to take our dog Quake, because they have plenty of room for him to explore. He is going to love it. My great nephew little Joey, named for my dad. Gets a long great with Quake and the dog loves Joey and all kids really. It's another mile stone on the way to reclaiming my life.

I also went swimming a couple of weeks ago at the YMCA. I had been putting it off for a few years actually. Because I was ashamed of the way I looked and didn't think I would be able to get myself out of the pool. I was expecting some long looks and maybe an outburst or two, that would have made me angry. But, I got just a few looks and had a rather uneventful time. The people that work there and some of my neighbors that were there were very nice and polite and that made the experience tolerable. I didn't have to get my dander up, this time!


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